Stop with the Ritalin, Conceta, Metadate and Methylin, and play with the children.
Pass on the Adderall, Vyvanse and Dextrostat, and instead corral the kids, find a ball and get outside to kick, hit, throw, catch and run.
Those are some of the drugs given to folks, including a lot of children, diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder or ADHD. And those are some of the things I've used to the battle the disorder.
This won't be popular with some, but I care more about a drugged- up 5-year-old than I do about folks' feelings. I care that a 7-year- old attends camp sleep-deprived, lethargic and not wanting to play.
At best, parents and guardians merely are following the drug- dominated advice of family doctors who are not the most qualified to make an ADHD diagnosis. At worst, folks give children the drugs not to help the child but to put a Band-Aid on the fact they are too lazy to find time to move enough with their children to elicit a lot of laughter and a little sweat. Then there are the big pharmaceutical companies reaping billions of dollars off a diagnosis that is extremely simple to make.
Folks don't have to believe me when it comes to seeing the absurd requirements for an ADHD diagnosis. Look it up. ADHD, as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, is incredibly broad. One has to have six of 18 "symptoms" to reach the diagnosis.
Here are six: 1. Has difficulty sustaining attention in tasks or play activities. 2. Does not seem to listen when spoken to directly. 3. Easily distracted by extraneous stimuli. 4. Forgetful in daily activities. 5. Talks excessively. 6. Appears "on the go" or acts as if "driven by a motor."
Just with those six, how many folks do you know who could be diagnosed with ADHD or ADD?
Let's add a few more: 7. Has difficulty awaiting turn. 8. Interrupts or intrudes on others - such as in a conversation or a game. 9. Blurts out answers before the questions have been completed. 10. Has difficulty playing or engaging in leisure time activities quietly.
Everybody I know falls into this somewhere. The diagnosis is being human.
I understand that many reading this are no more qualified to diagnose ADHD than to diagnose a muscle strain or tear. However, ADHD is a mental health disorder. So shouldn't doctors qualified in mental health issues make the diagnosis?
Today, many who diagnose ADHD don't delve into why the person has those symptoms. So the treatment is essentially a cover-up used to allow something to heal. Yet there's no healing taking place under this cover-up. But these things are taking place: chemical dependency, mood swings, loss of appetite, erectile dysfunction, heightened anxiety and more.
I work with young athletes diagnosed with ADHD or ADD all the time. They run, jump, kick, hit, throw, catch, roll, balance, push, pull and play on outdoor fitness equipment. And they love it.
Parents sign up young athletes for the programs because the organized chaos - doing what the body loves to do, or moving - keeps their attention.
Movement is life.
Some people have to move to think. I see those children on a weekly basis. I let them move, even while offering instruction. I let them fidget. I don't expect them to be quiet while doing leisure activities.
I'm not naive. There are folks out there with real issues. But the way we're going about figuring out - and caring for - the issues hurts those who have real disorders.
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Bryant is an author and lecturer who holds several national training
certifications. Email him at movingthefuture@gmail.com.